Hurricane season comes to a close

Published: Friday, November 30, 2012 at 07:32 AM.

The 2012 Atlantic hurricane season comes to a close today, but this season was a reminder that tropical storms don’t follow a calendar.

Tropical Depression Beryl, which produced a tornado that touched down in the area, passed by Eastern North Carolina on May 30, just before the June 1 start of the hurricane season. Hurricane Sandy, which proved to be the second-costliest Atlantic hurricane in history, made a late-season arrival.

John Cole of the National Weather Service office in Newport said Beryl had significant impact considering it was a tropical depression as it passed by the area and was unusual to see so early in the year. He said it’s normally July or so before tropical activity is seen off the North Carolina coast.

“It’s not real typical to have a tropical storm here in May,” he said,

And Beryl left its mark in the area, dropping heavy rainfall and producing a tornado that touched down in Carteret County not far from the Onslow County border.

The EF-1 tornado touched down in Peletier near the intersection of Little Kinston Road and Buster Road and traveled west-northwest along Little Kinston and Carter Shores Road before lifting and moving into the White Oak River.

Approximately 67 homes were damaged, from shingles and siding lost to more severe damage, and three modular or mobile homes, a garage and several small outbuildings were destroyed. The tornado snapped between 75 to 150 pine trees in half and others were uprooted.

The 2012 Atlantic hurricane season comes to a close today, but this season was a reminder that tropical storms don’t follow a calendar.

Tropical Depression Beryl, which produced a tornado that touched down in the area, passed by Eastern North Carolina on May 30, just before the June 1 start of the hurricane season. Hurricane Sandy, which proved to be the second-costliest Atlantic hurricane in history, made a late-season arrival.

John Cole of the National Weather Service office in Newport said Beryl had significant impact considering it was a tropical depression as it passed by the area and was unusual to see so early in the year. He said it’s normally July or so before tropical activity is seen off the North Carolina coast.

“It’s not real typical to have a tropical storm here in May,” he said,

And Beryl left its mark in the area, dropping heavy rainfall and producing a tornado that touched down in Carteret County not far from the Onslow County border.

The EF-1 tornado touched down in Peletier near the intersection of Little Kinston Road and Buster Road and traveled west-northwest along Little Kinston and Carter Shores Road before lifting and moving into the White Oak River.

Approximately 67 homes were damaged, from shingles and siding lost to more severe damage, and three modular or mobile homes, a garage and several small outbuildings were destroyed. The tornado snapped between 75 to 150 pine trees in half and others were uprooted.

A number of homes in the area are second homes and were not occupied at the time the storm came through. There were no injuries reported.

While Beryl had significant local impact, Hurricane Sandy in late October is the storm to go down in 2012 record books.

It is the second costliest Atlantic hurricane, surpassed only by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. According to the National Weather Service, preliminary estimates, including business interruption, surpass $50 billion.

Northeastern states got the brunt of Hurricane Sandy.

In the United States, it affected at least 24 states, with particularly severe damage in New Jersey and New York. The storm surge that hit New York City flooded streets, tunnels and subway lines.

“There was a lot more storm surge and it impacted very populated areas,” Cole said, noting that a lot of fatalities were a result of the storm surge.

Sandy was also the largest Atlantic hurricane on record, and for North Carolina was a reminder that the storms can be massive and impact large areas without coming ashore.

“Another lesson is that it doesn’t take a direct hit to have impact. This storm was 200 miles off our coast,” Cole said.

Cole said tropical storm force winds extended 800 miles across the storm.

The Outer Banks saw the worst of the damage in North Carolina and Dare County saw a 3-foot to 5-foot storm surge on both the ocean and sound sides, with the high sound-side surge from Rodanthe to Hatteras, according to a National Weather Service storm summary. The surge washed out portions of N.C. 12 and work is continuing on road repairs.

On the water, the Coast Guard carried out a daring rescue of the crew members aboard the H.M.S. Bounty, the tall ship built for the 1962 movie Mutiny on the Bounty. The ship began taking on water about 90 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, and the 16 members abandoned ship and got into two lifeboats. Fifteen people were rescued. One crew member was unresponsive when found and later died. The captain remains missing.

Onslow and Carteret counties saw a significant amount of rain, large breaking waves and moderate beach erosion along North Topsail Beach and Bogue Banks, and moderate coastal flooding along the sounds in eastern Carteret County.

Maximum wind gusts during Sandy in Carteret County were 60 mph, with the highest recorded at Cedar Island. Rainfall totaled 2 to 3 inches.

Maximum wind gusts were up to 40 mph in Onslow County and rainfall ranged from 2 to 4 inches.